Game of Thrones creators to write and direct first feature film

Dan Weiss and David Benioff are set to write, direct and produce a new crime movie based on Stephen Hunter's Dirty White Boys

They might have spent the last seven years creating a world of fantasy, bloodlust and dragons for HBO – and signed up do it for at least another two years to come – but Dan Weiss and David Benioff are also set to branch away from Westeros.

The Game of Thrones co-creators have signed up to make their first feature film, a movie based on Stephen Hunter's novel Dirty White Boys.

The pair, who have successfully adapted George RR Martin's fantasy novels for the TV screen, will also be working together, writing, producing and directing this new film for Fox.

In terms of setting, Dirty White Boys couldn't get much further from the Seven Kingdoms – the 1995 novel follows three escaped convicts and the detective who tries to track them down. It is reportedly incredibly violent, though, so at least the duo won't be too out of their comfort zone...

"For Dan and I, we started writing Game Of Thrones in 2006, and this book could not be more different, a contemporary thriller, but the characters are so well drawn that you become attached to them, good or bad, and you want to follow them," David Benioff told Deadline.

Asked whether they had started working on it yet, Benioff replied: "The straight answer is, not yet. But its ours."

Game of Thrones season four continues on Monday at 9:00pm on Sky Atlantic.